Research Catalog

Title

Halley's quest : a selfless genius and his troubled Paramore / Julie Wakefield.

Author

Wakefield, Julie.

Publication

Washington, D.C. : Joseph Henry Press, [2005], ©2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

vii, 261 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits; 23 cm

Summary

"For most people, Edmond Halley is best known for accurately predicting the periodic appearance of the comet that ultimately would bear his name. But his greatest achievement may have been overlooked - indeed, few people know that it was Halley who solved the riddle of accurate navigation for all seagoing vessels." "Once branded a heretic by the Church and denied a prestigious chair at Oxford University, Edmond Halley changed the course of science, producing sea charts that described more accurate ways to navigate and documenting new geophysical phenomena ranging from ocean patterns to the motions of Jupiter's moons." "Brilliantly deducing that the Earth contained a number of spherical shells, one inside the other, each magnetized differently, each slowly rotating in relation to the others, Halley was awarded command of a small "pink," the 52-foot sailing ship Paramore. As he set sail from England in late 1698, his mission was to determine the variation between true and magnetic north in order to more accurately calculate longitude - a feat that would improve Britain's navigational skills and ensure its dominance of the high seas." "Halley's Quest takes readers on a trilogy of sea voyages, each of which proved to be as novel and revealing as it was difficult and controversial. But more than a yarn of risk and adventure, the story at the core of the book is a deeply personal and intellectual tale that captures the science and the spirit of an almost forgotten episode in the history of navigation. This book emphasizes the drama of Halley's mission and the passion of an era hungry for the stories science had to tell."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Halley, Edmond, 1656-1742
• Paramore (Ship)
• Scientific expeditions > Great Britain
• Geodetic astronomy > Observations
• Geomagnetism > Observations
• Discoveries in science > Great Britain

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-228) and index.

ISBN

0309095948

LCCN

2005016511

OCLC

• ocm62551730
• SCSB-5267103

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries